It all began as an intriguing idea, the thought of Tim Tebow running around as an exciting spark for the New York Jets’ offense.

Then it all fizzled — before it really even started.

Rex Ryan acknowledged Wednesday that he had higher expectations for the seldom-used Tebow in the Jets’ wildcat-style offense. And, so did the NFL’s most popular and maligned backup quarterback.

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‘‘For some reason, it hasn’t panned out to my expectations and maybe Tim’s, either,’’ Ryan said. ‘‘Defenses have attacked us a little differently. Maybe that’s a contributing factor.’’

Ryan would not go into detail about why he chose Greg McElroy over Tebow to replace the struggling Mark Sanchez as the team’s starting quarterback with two games left in a lost season. He reiterated his comments from Tuesday that it was his decision — and his alone — saying it was a ‘‘gut’’ call.

It was one that, predictably, didn’t sit well with Tebow.

‘‘Obviously, I’m a little disappointed,’’ he said. ‘‘You try to handle it the best you can.’’

Tebow paused for a second when asked if he felt passed over by Ryan choosing McElroy instead of him.

‘‘All you can ask for and all you want is a chance,’’ he said. ‘‘A chance to go out there and play the game you love, and help this team win football games. That’s all I wanted.’’

The fact McElroy leapfrogged Tebow appears to be a clear indicator that the Jets think very little of Tebow as a quarterback, the player for whom they traded a fourth-round draft pick to Denver in March.

‘‘I think we had a vision of using Tim in different ways,’’ Ryan said. ‘‘Obviously, we used him as a personal punt protector. I thought maybe we would use him in other ways or something.’’

Tebow was also asked point-blank whether he pictures himself being a member of the Jets next season.